Goodnight, My Father, Goodnight, My Son
by Nienna1
Summary: A series of vignettes concerning the King Theoden of Rohan and his son, Theodred, at various points in their lives. Chapter Two: The morning of Theodred's seventeenth birthday. How will he react to finally becoming an adult? 2/4
1. Good Night

A/N: When I am finished, this story will be a series of four vignettes concerning Theoden and his son, Theodred, at various points in their lives. The next chapter's rough draft is finished and is being beta-read by various people right now and will be up shortly. 

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Goodnight, My Father; Goodnight, My Son

By Nienna

Chapter One: Good Night

"Tell me a story, Father," said Theodred excitedly. He did not want to go to sleep. "Please? I'm not in the least bit tired, and you know as well as I that a good story makes me drop off to sleep like that." The young Prince of Rohan snapped his fingers and then quickly pretended to be asleep, complete with very loud fake snores.

The King Theoden laughed. "Alright, my son, I will tell you a story." Theodred stopped pretending to be asleep and sat up to listen to his father's tale. The King paused for a moment, then began speaking. "Once upon a time, there was a young Prince of Rohan who went to bed when his Father told him, got a good night's rest, and went on to be the best king Rohan ever saw. The end."

This time, it was Theodred's turn to laugh. "I meant a real story, Father!" he said.

"That was a real story," replied the King. "It had everything a story needs to have: a plot, a character, and a setting. And if you go to bed right now, who knows? Maybe we can make it a true story."

Theodred paused. "Do you really think I'll make a good king, Father? I don't think I will. Or, at least, I'll never be as good a king as you are."

"I think you'll do fine," said Theoden, leaning in towards his son. "But you shouldn't be worrying about that now. You're still just a boy! Once you have your studies and your friendships and your chores under control, then we can talk about ruling the kingdom of Rohan."

Theodred laughed again. "Tell me the story about the Ents, Father. You know that one's my favorite."

"You could tell it to me!" laughed Theoden. "You know it better than I!"

"But you don't need a bedtime story," said the young prince matter-of-factly. "You're a grown-up!"

Theoden smiled wistfully at his son. "Yes, I am. But when you get to be my age, dear Theodred, you will long for childhood just as I do now."

Theodred was puzzled by his Father's words. "What do you mean, I will long for childhood? Why would I want to be a child, who has to worry about studies and chores, when I could be an adult? When I could be carefree?"

The King of Rohan laughed so hard at this that his son felt a little hurt. "That's exactly what I mean, Father!" said Theodred. "No one takes children seriously! Every time I try to have a serious discussion with an adult, they laugh and say 'Why don't you go outside and play, Theodred?' 'Why don't you leave this matter in the hands of us adults?'"

Theoden stopped laughing and merely smiled. "Mark my words, dear son of mine, the time will come when you wish people said that to you again." The King yawned. "Now, I don't know about you, but I am getting tired!"

"I'm not tired at all!" whined Theodred. "How can you be tired? You're an adult! You're not supposed to get _tired._" Theodred shook his head. It seemed he knew more about adulthood than his father did!

"And little boys from Rohan aren't supposed to feed their vegetables to their dogs," said the King, his eyes twinkling.

Theodred forced a smile and said weakly, "It was hungry?"

Theoden laughed again. "I'm sure it was. But don't worry, Theodred, I'm willing to keep this our little secret-"

Theodred's smile broadened.

"-if you go to bed right now," finished Theoden.

Theodred sighed in exasperation. "Fine," he said, lying down and rolling over to his side. "I guess I am sort of tired." The prince yawned and his eyes started to droop. "I guess."

The King smiled at his son. "Good night, Theodred."

"Good night, Father."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

As his father blew out the candle that was on the bedside and staggered out into the hallway, Theodred noticed that his Father _did _look tired.

'Maybe being an adult is harder than I thought,' thought Theodred as he rolled over, yawned again, and shut his eyes. 'I mean, adults do have to worry about us children, and cook and clean for us, but that's about it. I think Father lets on that being King is a lot easier than it actually is. He always seems tired, but all he does is boss people around and tuck me into bed at night.' The young prince yawned again. 'I can't wait till I'm all grown up,' was his final thought has he dropped off to sleep.

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TBC 


	2. Good Morning

A/N: If Middle-earth did a production of 'Cats,' Theodred would *so* be Mr. Mistoffelees.

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Goodnight, My Father; Goodnight, My Son

By Nienna

Chapter Two: Good Morning

"Good morning, Father," said the familiar voice of my son as he entered the dining room for breakfast, drawing me out of my memories. "Did you sleep well?"

"I slept fine, thank you," I said, which was far from the truth. In reality, I had been having those haunting nightmares about a terrible shadow overtaking me- but I wasn't going to tell that to my son. "Happy Birthday."

A smile crept over Theodred's face. He ran over to me and gave me a big hug. "Thank you. I love you, Father," he whispered in my ear.

"I love you too, Theodred, and you are most welcome." Theodred released me from the hug, and I hardened my tone of voice. "Son, today is your seventeenth birthday, and, by the laws of Rohan, that makes you a man."

Theodred nodded. He knew all about Rohan's laws and customs, having lived in the center of them for all his life.

"As you know," I continued, "this is a huge responsibility that will suddenly fall on your shoulders. If, at any given moment, something happens to me, you will take the position as the King of Rohan."

"Don't speak of such things!" cried Theodred. "How will I ever be able to celebrate knowing that something might happen to you at any given moment?" He laughed merrily.

"Precisely," I said. Theodred stopped laughing. "You will never be able to celebrate, because there is too much to worry about, too much to take care of, and that nagging little voice in the back of your head that whispers incessantly 'What if something bad happens? Right…NOW?' And I guarantee, Theodred, you will give into that voice and go into a state of panic ninety-nine percent of the time."

"You aren't being very encouraging, Father," said Theodred, wrinkling his nose and frowning.

"Welcome to adulthood," I said. "You will find that no one is very encouraging when you are an adult. Everyone either thinks you don't need encouraging, or they are too busy trying to encourage themselves to find the time to encourage you. You'll get over it."

Theodred did not look thrilled, to say the least.

"But, since it is your birthday…" I said as a small smile grew on my lips, "I'm willing to cut you a break. I swear to you that, today, I will not suddenly die. If I do, you may have my emerald-encrusted sword that you like so much, and that beautiful new grey foal. Deal?"

Theodred laughed. "Deal."

"Good," I said. "Now, go make your bed."

Theodred groaned a very loud and over-exaggerated groan. He started off towards his room, but then stopped, and turned around to face me. A mischievous smile was on his face. "Wait," he said, "I'm an adult now. I don't have to." He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall to prove his point.

I smiled and shook my head. Though my son was very different from the seven-year-old boy who thought grown-ups had a carefree lifestyle, he really hadn't changed that much at all. I was glad.

"You're right, Theodred," I said. He smiled. "You have to do more." His smile faded. "Go make your bed, put away those tunics that are scattered all about your room, and then we'll go talk to Master Culnaurion and see about getting you some extra help in history."

"But Father…" protested Theodred.

"No 'but Father's' this time, Theodred," I said sternly. "You're an adult now! You should act as such."

Theodred moaned and started off towards his room once more.

"Halt!" I said suddenly. He stopped and turned around. "Even though you're an adult now, it is still your birthday." I tossed him an orange and began to pour him a cup of tea. "Sit down."

"You mean no history?" he asked slyly.

"No history," I replied as he sat down and began to peel his orange. "At least, not today. But tomorrow, I'm afraid things are going to be rather different."

Theodred smiled and merely bit into his orange as a reply.

I sat there, looking at my son. He was so different from the little boy who needed me to tuck him in at night, tell him a story, and check under the bed to make sure there weren't any trolls. He was an adult now, and, even though he sometimes led on otherwise, I was confident he was ready to take on the immense responsibilities of adulthood.

But was I ready for him to?

Was I really ready to let my only beloved son out into so wild a world?

Of course I wasn't, but what parent isn't?

I sighed and looked at my son as he finished up his orange and carefully threw away the peelings. He was an adult now, but that didn't mean he would stop being my son.

My smiling, now adult, son, ran over to me, gave me a quick hug, and whispered in my ear that he was going outside to see his friends.

No, he would never stop being Theodred, my only beloved son, my greatest comfort in a world full of agony, I thought as I watched him run out the door.

I smiled and began to peel an orange.

A/N: Did anyone catch a bit of foreshadowing in this chapter?

I also just wanted to thank all my reviewers, so, here it is: THANK YOU!

-Nienna


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